


Secret Stash

by rachelvanbora



Category: Cabin Pressure
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-27
Updated: 2015-09-27
Packaged: 2018-04-23 13:59:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 611
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4879537
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rachelvanbora/pseuds/rachelvanbora
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>11th fandot creativity night. The prompt was "Oh no, you’ve found my secret stash of..." Was supposed to write it in 15 mins. or so, but it took almost the whole night (yawn). Dedicated to my heroes, Chuck Yeager, Scott Crossfield and all the others who were not so lucky as to be immortalized by Tom Wolfe (read "The Right Stuff" :-)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Secret Stash

(in the Portacabin)  
Martin: No, Douglas.  
Douglas: No? Goodness, you´re awfully secretive about that drawer, Martin.  
Martin: It is my drawer.  
Douglas: Judging by the looks it´s one of those locks that can be picked with a paper clip.  
Martin: You cannot pick locks, Douglas.  
Douglas: Can´t I?  
Martin: It´s impolite.  
Douglas: Fair enough. A guessing game, then?  
Martin: What, with three guesses and if you fail I get to eat you?  
Douglas: I beg your pardon?  
Martin: The students had a Hobbit marathon last night.  
Douglas: How reassuring. For a second I feared you were referencing Hannibal.  
Martin: Three attempts, and if you don´t guess right, you´ll never pester me about it again.  
Douglas: Splendid. Though we may have to discuss the definition of pestering later. Guess No. 1: That inconspicuous drawer contains a list of all the callsigns you would have chosen if you flew a fighter jet.  
Martin: Nonsense. I tore that list to pieces after I failed my instrument rating for the first time. You got two guesses left, Carpkiller.  
Douglas: Spare gold braiding, plus possibly some hat designs?  
Martin: No.  
Douglas: Hmm. Martin! Could I have possibly discovered your secret stash of CAA unapproved literature?  
Martin: You´re cheating. And loosing. What a great game.  
Douglas: How I am cheating?  
Martin: You cast your net absurdly wide so that you´d be able to claim victory. Very many things can be described as „CAA unapproved“.  
Douglas: While what you hide inside is, in fact, official aviation business?  
Martin: No more guesses Douglas. Game over.  
Douglas: All right, Cross.  
Martin: How did you know?  
Douglas: Was that the first name on your list of callsigns?  
Martin: Yes, yes, but how on earth-?  
Douglas: Two greatest test pilots were, arguably, Chuck Yeager and Scott Crossfield. And since I didn´t figure you for a Yeager guy-  
Martin: That man was utterly irresponsible. Operating an incredibly expensive experimental jet with broken ribs, using non-certified equipment-  
Douglas: -a broom handle, perfectly safe and just the thing to close the hatch-  
Martin: -when your upper body strength is compromised by a riding accident. And to think that this was how he broke the sound barrier. Unbelievable.  
Douglas: Quite.  
Martin: I didn´t mean it as a compliment.  
Douglas: No, you didn´t.  
Martin: Crossfield was different. Disciplined, methodical- (Carolyn enters the Portacabin)  
Douglas: Carolyn! You got three attempts, and if you guess correctly what it is that Martin hides in his drawer, he´ll read the Hobbit to Arthur.  
Carolyn: This battered old drawer?  
Douglas: The very same.  
Carolyn: The real Hobbit? All of it? Not some dumbed-down film tie-in?  
Martin: I´ll read him the whole Lord of the Rings, if he helps me move some really tricky clients.  
Douglas: May I just say, to prevent any potential misunderstandings, Carolyn, that I will not work for free, even if you promised to read the integral Kama-Sutra to me?  
Carolyn: Shocking. Martin, in your locked drawer there are -were- all six of your CAA WRTIY letters. It is a brave man that asks for Arthur´s help, by the way.  
Douglas: WRTIY?  
Carolyn: We regrett to inform you...  
Martin: Were ? - how did you ?-  
Carolyn: This filling cabinet has really seen better times. Your folder has slipped through a crack at the back. Arthur found it yesterday. Showed it to me, bouncing with excitement-  
Martin: -all right, all right.  
Carolyn: He´d been curious about your happy folder for quite some time now.  
Douglas: Happy folder?  
Martin: Six CAA letters say I cannot fly. And yet here I am.  
Douglas: You renegade. Chuck would be proud.


End file.
